David Kenemer (left), a Northwest Georgia Regional Commission planner, and Gil Penalosa, executive director of Walk and Bike for Life, explain the concept of a ciclovia, or open streets event, to Rome and Floyd County leaders Monday at City Hall. (Doug Walker, rn-t.com)

Shutting down Broad Street in downtown Rome for an in-the-street event would be significantly different from shutting down the area for a bike race or marathon.

“This is for everybody,” said Gil Penalosa, a Colombian native who is promoting healthy lifestyle events in the United States. He told Rome leaders that a ciclovia — as similar events are called around the world — would be “an exercise in social integration.”

“You deliver the people and everything else will take care of itself,” was the reaction from downtown merchant Roger Wade. He and a number of merchants huddled with Penalosa and representatives from Bike! Walk! Northwest Georgia during a brainstorming session at City Hall on Monday afternoon.

Penalosa started the concept in his native Bogotá as a means of taking back the streets from crime and drug lords and, in the process, promoted physical activity among the city’s citizens. In Spanish, ciclovia translates to “bike path” and now often refers to a closed street used for biking, walking and other similar activities.

He suggests that if Rome were to try the concept, that it schedule more than one event.

“The first time, all you see are the problems. The second time, everybody knows what’s going on,” Penalosa said.

In most cities where a ciclovia has been held, it has taken place on a Sunday.

Planning Director Sue Hiller initially suggested trying it on a Saturday in Rome. “A time when downtown merchants are maybe a little slow anyway,” said Hiller.

Ann Hortman from the Greater Rome Convention and Visitors Bureau even suggested the last Friday in April, when a portion of downtown streets would be closed anyway for a national handcycling event.

Not to be confused, Penalosa said that a ciclovia is not all about cycling.

“It could be walking, running, biking, skating, aerobics, chalk painting, anything,” Penalosa said. “What attracts people the most is other people.”

Similar events have drawn support from the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization.

Bill Moll, director of Bike! Walk! Northwest Georgia, said that the cost to put on an event would be minimal. He said the city of Atlanta spent about $3,000 to put on one of the events.

Penalosa added, “You have the infrastructure. You have the streets. Open the streets to the people and close them to the cars.”

David Kenemer with the Northwest Georgia Regional Commission said his organization could assist with some budgetary issues.

Downtown Development Director Ann Arnold said she would be willing to survey downtown merchants to determine their level of support for such an activity, and perhaps get a better handle on the appropriate timing for such an event.

Presentations next week will bring a guest of international acclaim to Cartersville to discuss the benefits of biking and walking within an urban environment.

Gil Peñalosa, a livable city advisor, will lead a daytime workshop Monday, Jan. 31, on how to create and maintain a Ciclovia. As the former Commissioner of Parks, Sports and Recreation in Bogota, Columbia, Peñalosa initiated the first Ciclovia which promotes a healthier lifestyle and community by closing streets to cars within a designated district and inviting residents to bike or walk.

Sponsored by Bike! Walk! Northwest Georgia, the Northwest Georgia Regional Commission and the Georgia Department of Transportation, Peñalosa’s visit will spell out the details behind Ciclovias, which have become a weekly event in Bogota and have since found success around the world.

“It really revitalized their downtown area and it has gone to several different cities around the world. The thought is, taking the time between about 1 and 5 p.m. on a Sunday afternoon and creating an area downtown where people can walk and bike without having to deal with automobile traffic and creating almost like a fair-type atmosphere,” said event organizer David Kenemer, principal planner for NWGRC.

During Ciclovia in Bogota, restaurants and service industries remain open and street performers are brought in to create a festive atmosphere each week.

“Typically, Sunday afternoon after church most of our downtown areas are pretty much dead, there’s nothing going on, and this is a way to utilize that area and bring people together,” Kenemer said.

Following the daytime workshop will be another presentation in the evening geared more toward the general public interested in the benefits of cycling, walking and ‘livable’ cities.

“A livable city is basically a city that anyone from about age 8 to age 80 can easily get around from point-A to point-B by walking or biking. It’s cities that incorporate transit, sidewalks, crosswalks, areas where people can feel comfortable riding their bike, cities with a good police presence and a downtown where you feel comfortable with businesses you want to shop at,” Kenemer said.

Avid cyclist and Senior Code Enforcement Officer for the city of Cartersville Tim Jones looks forward to the information being shared next week as he commented on the benefits of such alternative transportation.

“This is fresh information for this part of the country. It will be interesting to see what the gentleman brings to the table so that we can learn how these are done around the country,” Jones said. “The benefits are great for your health and not bad for your wallet with the price of gas at $3 these days.

“It’s something that anyone can do. Once a kid is old enough to safely ride, and adults, you can get on a bike and go wherever you want to go.”

Throughout his travels, Jones has biked in cities across the country. Western states have been quicker to lessen their dependence on automobiles for transportation opening lanes for bikers and walkers in an effort to become more livable.

Referring to recent projects including the bike path at Sam Smith Park and new roads incorporating bike lanes such as Old Alabama Road, Jones is optimistic about the future for a more active lifestyle and community in and around Cartersville. Long-range plans include the connection of bike paths at Sam Smith Park with those at Atco Village.

“I hope that is something that is completed. It would be a great north-south connector like some of the trails you see in communities out west like Boulder and Seattle and some of these more progressive communities that do have a lot of cycling as a means of transportation,” Jones said.

Bike! Walk! Northwest Georgia has co-sponsored several presentations over the past four years promoting various topics in the realm of alternative transportation and the promotion of active lifestyles.

Both presentations are free and will be held at the Cartersville Hilton Garden Inn, 24 Liberty Drive. The daytime workshop will last from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, Jan. 31. The evening presentation will begin at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 31. A second opportunity to view the evening program including a Spanish presentation will be held in Dalton on Tuesday, Feb. 1 at Dalton City Hall.

For more information contact Kenemer at 706-295-6485 or via e-mail at dkenemer@nwgrc.org.

Dalton, Ga. — Por Jorge Perez

jorgeperez@daltoncitizen.com

Este pasado martes en el City Hall de la ciudad de Dalton se llevó a cabo la conferencia “Ciclovía” por parte de Gil Peñalosa, Director Ejecutivo de 8-80 ciudades, un grupo canadiense que promueve el caminar y andar en bicicleta, disfrutar del aire libre, y convivir con la naturaleza en comunidad, y que pretende implantar este proyecto en la zona.

“El tópico que vamos a hablar aquí es muy universal, es para las naciones ricas, pobres, ciudades metropolitanas o pueblos pequeños como este”, empezó hablando Peñalosa acerca de la Ciclovía. “Estoy muy agradecido por todos los que vinieron, gracias por su tiempo, es muy generoso de Uds. venir a escuchar de como hacer para mejorar nuestra comunidad y tranformarnos en una sociedad más sana y saludable”.

La presentación que fue abierta al público en general y en cierta parte bilingüe español e inglés, tuvo entre sus asistentes a numerosas autoridades locales de la región, así como gente de la comunidad y algunos líderes latinos.

La organización “8-80” ciudades tiene como objetivo el contribuir a la creación de vibrantes ciudades y comunidades saludables, donde los residentes viven más felices y disfrutan de grandes espacios públicos además de promover el caminar y andar en bicicleta como actividades divertidas, así como el recuperar los parques urbanos, caminos y espacios públicos como una manera de cumplir con una mejor vida.

“Estas actividades y espacios públicos mejoran nuestro medio ambiente, impulsan el desarrollo económico, catapultan y complementan nuestros sistemas de transporte, además de formular un mejor esparcimiento para todos, y obviamente mejoran nuestra salud personal y pública por medio de la actividad física”, explicó Peñalosa.

Gil Peñalosa, quien sirvió como comisionado de Parques y Recreación en Bogotá, Colombia, antes de mudarse a Canadá, en donde abogó por el proyecto de la “Ciclovía” que no eso otra cosa que calles o caminos especiales para bicicletas, caminar, disfrutar del aire libre con la naturaleza y a la misma vez sirve para ser personas mas saludables.

Peñalosa también fue pionero de  los populares “Domingos sin Vehículo”, plan que hoy en día cuenta con mas de 1,3 millones de personas a pie, en bicicleta o patinando a lo largo de 1,3 kilómetros en las calles de Bogotá, la capital colombiana.

“En el espacio público todos somos iguales, y esto es parte también importante de romper esas separaciones de los ricos y pobres, y de los inmigrantes y no inmigrantes”, recalcando la importancia de la Ciclovía como medio de comunicación entre comunidades, de persona a persona en ambiente agradable.

Para el Reverendo Ernesto Méndez – reconocido líder religioso de nuestra comunidad – quien estuvo presente en la reunión, el proyecto “esta muy interesante, necesitamos mas entretenimiento y recreación para nuestra comunidad y esto nos llevaría a un mejor nivel de vida”. Méndez, quien está por inaugurar oficialmente un complejo deportivo de fútbol, también tiene planes de implementar alrededor de las 103 acres una vía para caminar y andar en bicicletas, algo similar al proyecto que expuso Peñalosa en Dalton.

Todas la comunidades deben hacer algo para ser mas amigables para la gente, y las comunidades que no lo hagan cada vez se ven más rezagadas y sus mejores ciudadanos se irán en busca de mejores comunidades.

“Estamos muy entusiasmados, es muy importante para los niños y para todo el mundo el tener una mejor comunidad y mejor calidad de vida y todos seremos beneficiados; es en la escuela donde los niños aprenden, así que tenemos una especial rol en enseñar lo que puede ser nuestra comunidad”, comentó Jim Hawkins, Superintendente de las Escuelas Públicas de Dalton, quien estuvo presente en la reunión.

Ty Roos – Administrador de la ciudad de Dalton – junto a David Kenemer Jr., Director Regional de Planificación del Noroeste de GA, escucharon de Peñalosa a través de una maestra en Chattanooga en donde Peñalosa tuvo una presentación, y cuando escucharon su objetivo y propósito de  8-80, decidieron traerlo a Dalton para que hiciera la presentación audiovisual  para la comunidad.

“Peñalosa es fabuloso, es un gran comunicador y sus ideas son excelentes, creemos que Dalton va en la dirección correcta, pero necesitamos la  participación de todos; si todos nos unimos podemos lograrlo. Hacer de Dalton un mejor lugar para vivir”, recalcó Ty Roos, que presentó el año pasado un proyecto similar llamado “Dalton’s Future”.

Streets are the largest, most important public spaces in any city, says Gil Peñalosa, and what you design them for is what you will get.

If they are designed for cars, you’ll get streets filled with cars, and if they are designed for people, you’ll get people.

Peñalosa, executive director of 8-80 Cities, a Canadian group that promotes walking and bicycling and advocates trails and greenways for walkers and cyclists, spoke to about a dozen people Tuesday night at Dalton City Hall. He showed how cities from Colombia to Canada to Denmark to Mexico have redesigned their cities to make them more friendly to bicyclists and walkers and in the process made them more livable as well.

“Dalton isn’t Copenhagen. No one says that it is. Every city is unique. Every city faces its own different challenges. The goal isn’t to cut and paste what has worked somewhere else. The idea is to adapt and innovate,” he said. “We need to benchmark ourselves against the best.”

Peñalosa said the key to increasing bicycling and walking is to create the right infrastructure.

“We need to create networks,” he said.

In particular, Peñalosa said cities need to separate walkers and bicyclists from vehicles to make them safer. Cities that have created dedicated walking and bicycling paths have seen walking and cycling soar.

Other steps cities can take to make cycling more safe include distinctly marking crosswalks different colors than the rest of the street and putting stop signs at the exits of commercial developments.

Peñalosa said that when thinking about a city people need to imagine a small child that is very dear to them and an elderly person who is close to them.

“You need to ask would I like this child or that elderly person to go to that park or walk that street,” he said.

That’s the origin of the name of the group he heads, which is aimed at making cities safe and comfortable for those from ages 8 to 80.

“We need to stop designing cities as if everyone is 30,” Peñalosa said.

Dalton Public Schools Superintendent Jim Hawkins noted that school system has already begun to encourage more students to walk to school since it had to reduce bus service because of budget cutbacks.

“That was done for economic reasons, but we think we can get other benefits out of it, including helping our students become more active and more healthy,” Hawkins said.

City Administrator Ty Ross, who helped arrange Peñalosa’s talk, said he hopes it will galvanize support for more biking and walking here. He noted the city has already developed plans for greenway trails to link much of the city.

“What happens next is up to the people,” he said.

Peñalosa is executive director of 8-80 Cities, a Canadian group that promotes walking and bicycling and advocates trails and greenways for walkers and cyclists. He’ll be talking about the important of walking and biking at Dalton City Hall at 6 p.m. on Feb. 1. The presentation, which is open to the public, is sponsored by Bike! Walk! Northwest Georgia, the Northwest Georgia Regional Commission and the Georgia Department of Transportation. It will be conducted in both English and Spanish.

Peñalosa is the former commissioner of parks, sports and recreation in Bogota, Colombia, where he advocated “ciclovias,” which are dedicated paths for bicycles or streets that have been closed to automobile traffic. He also pioneered car-free Sunday, which now has more than 1.3 million people walking, cycling or skating along 1.3 kilometers of Bogota’s streets.

Dalton City Administrator Ty Ross said city officials had requested that the regional commission bring Peñalosa after he and Brookwood Elementary School Principal Will Esters saw him speak in Chattanooga.

“We are such an automobile-driven culture, but getting out of your car and walking or bicycling isn’t strange,” Ross said.

Peñalosa will be talking the benefits of ciclovias, how other communities across the world have used them and how they can improve a city’s quality of life.

“He’s really about community organizing and improving a community’s views on public spaces,” Esters said.

Brookwood officials are already encouraging students to walk to school with their parents.

“We do what we call ‘Walk to school Wednesdays,’” Esters said. “It’s an opportunity to build relationships more than anything else. If you are in the front seat of your car, and the kids are in back, and the radio is on, there’s not a whole lot of opportunity for conversation. When you are walking with your children and holding their hands, and they are looking at the acorns on the side of the road or asking you about a worm they see or asking what kind of bird is that, there’s more opportunities for interaction with your child. The whole idea is to slow down a little bit and enjoy each other’s presence.”

A workshop is scheduled for Jan. 31 in Cartersville to plan for a car-free Sunday in downtown sometime in the future.

The Ciclovia/Car Free Sundays Workshop will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn, 24 Liberty Drive. There is no fee for the event.

The workshop aims to teach people that it isn’t as difficult to walk places as they might have come to think.

David Kenemer, principal planner for the Northwest Regional Commission, hopes many who attend will discover how easy and convenient walking or cycling to places really is.

During Car Free Sundays, which have not been scheduled yet, streets will be opened to people and closed to cars. Anyone can come out and improve their mental, physical and emotional health, said Kenemer. People can do any physical activity they wish to do in public — walk, bike, skate, dance, skip, etc.

The workshops are taught by Gil Peñalosa, executive director of the Canadian nonprofit organization 8-80 Cities and former commissioner of Parks, Sports and Recreation in Bogota, Colombia. Peñalosa has spoken at more than 150 workshops and seminars in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

“This is not a fundraiser either. It is just available to the public to teach them about ciclovia and to learn about walking and biking. Our goal is to highlight our downtowns on a typically slow Sunday afternoon and get people to go downtown, shop, look around, eat, meet with friends and family, while also learning about the benefits of walking and cycling,” Kenemer said. “We want people to appreciate what they have and utilize it.”

Ciclovia is Spanish for bike path but often refers to any event that calls for the closing of streets for pedestrians and cyclists.

Topics for the day include benefits of ciclovia, basic elements of logistics, best practices, international examples and hands-on group activities.

The walking and cycling idea came from Peñalosa while he was in Bogota.

The event is sponsored by the Georgia Department of Transportation, Northwest Georgia Regional Commission and Bike! Walk! Northwest Georgia.

For more information contact Kenemer at 706-295-6485 or dkenemer@nwgrc.org. To learn about similar events go to bikewalknorthwestgeorgia.com.

Tayler Critchlow, a junior at Armuchee High School, is an intern with the Rome News-Tribune.

Dalton, GA — El próximo martes 1 de febrero la ciudad de Dalton recibirá la esperada visita del llamado “gurú de las Ciclovías”, Gil Penalosa, un colombiano que creó este concepto de comunidad sana por medio del ejercicio, y quien durante su presentación mostrará la importancia de “pedalear y caminar” para tener una sociedad mucho más sana.

Hace varios años atrás, cuando Penalosa servía como Comisionado de Parques, Deportes y Recreación en la Municipalidad de Bogotá, Colombia, puso en marcha este exitoso programa que ha ido compartiendo por el mundo a través de la organización sin fines de lucro de la cual hoy es Director Ejecutivo, 8 – 80 Cities, y que tiene su base en la ciudad canadiense de Ontario.

Penalosa se presentará el martes próximo en el City Hall de la Ciudad de Dalton a partir de las 6 de la tarde, y allí explicará los beneficios, las características y las bondades de este programa que se quiere implementar en esta ciudad – y en gran parte del estado – en dos charlas tanto en inglés como en español, donde las personas podrán conocer de este proyecto.

La idea principal de la organización 8 – 80 Cities, es buscar la forma que mediante el fomentación de las caminatas y el montarse en una bicicleta por las principales vías de la ciudad, suspendiendo en gran manera el desplazamiento de los vehículos, permite que las personas y la comunidad en general se vean y se sientan más saludables.

“Nuestro principal objetivo como organización con mira internacional en contribuir a crear ciudades entretenidas y vibrantes, con una comunidad saludable donde los ciudadanos sean más felices y tengan más y mejores espacios públicos para la convivencia”, declara la página oficial de 8 – 80 Cities, de la cual Penalosa es Director Ejecutivo.

Este tipo de actividades y espacios públicos mejoran el medio ambiente, impulsan el desarrollo económico, apoyan y complementan los sistemas de transporte, y mejoran la salud de las personas y pública.

Algo más que juegos

Así como en la capital colombiana, Bogotá, se inició con los “domingos libres de automóviles”, se supone que estos días son más que un tiempo para hacer ejercicio. Se trata de un plan para que toda la comunidad se comprometa socialmente y a la vez proporciona oportunidades de recreación y espacios públicos para que las personas puedan reunirse, interactuar y hacer conexiones sociales.

La Ciclovía de Bogotá – que comenzó a finales de 1970 – ha evolucionado hasta convertirse en una parte importante de la cultura de la sociedad así como lo ha hecho en cada una de las ciudades donde hoy se implementa este bello programa social.

Dalton quiere unirse a una larga lista de ciudades alrededor del mundo que buscan por medio de la Ciclovía y la fomentación de las caminatas en los días sin vehículos, el tener una comunidad mucho más saludable física y mentalmente.

No lo olvide, vaya y participe de este reunión que también se impartirá TOTALMENTE EN ESPAÑOL el próximo martes a partir de las 6 de la tarde en el City Hall de la Ciudad de Dalton. Los Esperamos, pues su opinión y su participación es importante para el desarrollo de nuestra propia comunidad